The winter of 1901 was quite interesting in Omaha. Hickey proposes that the Western League be divided into two leagues. A new American Association with the larger towns of the Western League forming the American Association and the smaller towns remaining in the Western League. The American Association would not have a salary limit and would not be a part of "Organized Baseball". Hickey sent a letter to Rourke stating that Rourke would be the owner of the American Association franchise in Omaha. Rourke attended both the American Association meeting in St. Josephs Missouri in November and the Western League meeting in early December.

At this point things got rather convoluted as Rourke decided to stay with the Western League. Hickey recruited Frank Bandle, a long time Omaha ball player and friend of Rourke to lead the charge for an American Association team. It looked like both Rourke and Bandle now had ownership of the American Association franchise in Omaha. Rourke had the trump card as he owned the ballpark on Vinton street and there was no other suitable stadium in Omaha.

On January 3rd, Hickey offered Rourke $5,000 for the park. Rourke demanded $7,500. The negotiations between the American Association and Rourke ended in late January when Bandle gave up and Omaha was dropped as an American Association team.

The war between the two leagues was not over however. Both Milwaukee and Kansas City wound up with two teams in 1902 and 1903, one in the American Association and one in the Western League.

Roster: George Stone was born in Lost Nation Iowa. He moved to Coleridge Nebraska as a boy and grew up in Coleridge. He was a banker in Coleridge and played semi-pro baseball for various teams in the area. He was 26 years old, playing in a tournament in northwestern Iowa when a scout for Pa Rourke noticed him. He was signed for the Rourkes and led the Western League in hits in 1902. Pa sold him to the Boston Red Sox for $2,000. He played in two games for Boston in 1903 (Baseball Reference lists him as being 25 in 1903, but the Des Moines Register lists him as 27 that year). He played for Milwaukee in the American Association and averaged .405. That led to him being picked up by the St. Louis Browns in 1905. In 1906 he led the league in hitting with a .358 average. Ty Cobb hit .320 that year. He played with St. Louis through the 1910 season. He started the 1911 season with Milwaukee and finished it in the Pacific Coast League with Portland. He returned to baseball in 1916 as the owner of the Lincoln franchise in the Western League.

T206 George Stone (photoshopped) Courtesy M. Smith

Peter Burg played for Omaha, Milwaukee and Des Moines in 1902. He averaged .200 in 113 games.

Tom Fleming played for Omaha, Colorado Springs and with Philadelphia (N) in 1902. He averaged .296 in 128 games. He also had a cup of coffee with the Giants in 1899 and with Philadelphia in 1904.

Saint Louis native Frank Genins played in 131 games for Omaha in 1902. He averaged .244. Frank played for Cincinatti and St Louis in 1892, Pittsburg in 1895 and Cleveland in 1901.

Johnny Gonding was a regular catcher for Omaha from 1902-1910. He played in 129 games and averaged .211.

Ace Stewart was an Indiana native. He averaged .247 in 136 games. Ace played for the Chicago Colts in 1895.

Eddie Hickey averaged .216 in 102 games. Originally from Cleveland, Eddie had a cup of coffee with Chicago (N) in 1901.

Jack Thomas averaged .241 in 90 games. He played for Omaha from 1902-1905 and Lincoln from 1906-1911.

Robert Carter averaged .232 in 138 games. He tended the garden in Omaha for six years.

Frank Pears played in 40 games and averaged .186. The 35 year old pitcher and centerfielder was originally from Louisville. He had a cup of coffee with St. Louis (N) in 1893

Arthur Alloway played in 34 games and averaged .158, David Calhoun played in 55 games and averaged .246, and Joe Wilkins averaged .235 in 18 games. Red Wright averaged .397 in 16 games.

Pitchers: Oscar Graham was a Plattsmouth Nebraska native who pitched for Pa's team in 1901 and 1902. The port side pitcher was in 36 games and had a 16-17 record. At the end of the year he went west to the PCL where he was 6-9. He moved to Oakland in the PCL for 1903 and played in Oakland for 4 years. He played for Washington in the American League in 1907. Pa bought Mordecai "Three Fingers" Brown from the Terre Haute Hottentots for $300.00 and paid him $150.00 a month. He tied Kid Nichols for the lead in wins with 27 for the year. Pa sold Brown to the Cardinals in 1903. Modecai was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1949. Frank Foreman pitched in 12 games for Omaha in 1902. He played in the majors from 1884 through 1901. Frank Owen was a 21 year old pitcher from Ypsilanti. He pitched in 40 games for Omaha in 1902. He was bought by the White Sox and played for them from 1903 through the 1909 season.

T206 (photoshopped) Courtesy M. Smith

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